Leisure Consciousness Awakens! Where and how much Indian millennials spend to satisfy their wanderlust

A new kind of consciousness is awakening among the Indian millennials! In the wake of the improved financial health of the country and growing earning opportunities, millennials' sense of good life has also undergone a sea of change. They want to explore, take risks and see the world, even if they have to raise a small loan from public or private lenders. The rise of new-age digital lenders is also helping millennials in fulfilling their wish. The digital lending space is enabling easier access to loans, even to those with zero credit history.  There has been a phenomenal rise in the number of personal loans taken by Indian millennials for travelling. 

IndiaLends, one of the leading digital providers of personal loans and credit cards, reports a 55 per cent growth in personal loans for travel purposes. Of these, over 85 per cent loan seekers are millennials seeking loans in the range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 2,50,000.

Most borrowers, according to the IndiaLends report, like to travel to the countries that offer visa on arrival as most of the millennials go for loans for their last-minute holiday plans. Some of the popular destinations that offer visa on arrival include Thailand, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan. Some borrowers, however, also take loans for making luxury trips to Europe, USE, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. 

Why millennials take loans for travel

Gaurav Chopra, Founder & CEO, IndiaLends, told Zee Business Online, “The emergence of ‘leisure consciousness across India’s younger generation and the realization that a balanced lifestyle is important, has led to increase in domestic as well as international travel.”

There is a visible change in the way millennials think of travel loans. In fact, arranging funds for travel, either through loans or savings, has become one of the important personal finance activities undertaken by the awakened millennials.

"There has been a shift in the younger generation in terms of financial planning. Not just those who don’t have enough savings, but also those who want better travel experiences or wish to visit finer destinations are opting for loans. This also indicates the popularity of digital lending which is growing substantially in India. For a new generation customer, the ease of services is one of the important criteria for choosing the servicing company”, said Chopra. 

Travel for status?

However, not all millennials are travelling for exploring new localities or to pursue their good sense of life. The driving factor for making a trip for a large number of Indians, who take leisure travel, is "social status". A survey carried out by Booking.com among 53,492 people from 31 countries this year, found that 75% of the Indian respondents had taken trips for social status. As many as 88 per cent of them, however, said they travel to give themselves some time to relax. For 75 per cent of the respondents, travelling was also about going to places where their friends had not been to.